Chapter 85: Sales Explosion

A wildly popular intellectual quiz show, coupled with a trending topic sweeping across the entire internet—just how much attention could that generate? Zhang Chu could more or less provide an answer: his social media followers had skyrocketed by over a hundred thousand, and he’d even earned the title of “academic genius.” Even though many viewers complained that Sudong Television had lowered the difficulty of the questions, a one-against-ten victory was praiseworthy by any standard.

Not to mention, it had brought him more than eight million reputation points; combined with his original one million, he was just a hair’s breadth away from breaking into the ten-million tier.

“I’ve really struck gold this time!”

Like a farmer joyfully welcoming a bumper harvest, Zhang Chu found himself too excited to sleep in the middle of the night. With such a large trove of reputation points, how many tools from the system could he purchase or exchange for?

Should he spend five million reputation points to hire a top international lawyer?

Zhang Chu weighed his options seriously. It was, in essence, a venture capital investment: if the lawsuit could be won, the whole world’s attention would be drawn to this case.

If he lost, he’d be nothing more than a complete fool, the laughingstock of all, and no amount of reputation points could salvage a ruined public image.

Therefore, having the best lawyer was crucial. Without the system, even with enough money, Zhang Chu might not have been able to hire such people. After all, lawyers of that caliber already had countless cases on their hands.

“Let’s do it. I might as well enjoy this windfall.”

Without investing, how could one expect any return?

In writing Sherlock Holmes fan fiction, Zhang Chu was clearly in the right, whereas the Conan Doyle Foundation was merely being difficult, clinging to the rights in a bid to profit from them.

Zhang Chu had no idea whether “Detective Sherlock” could ever be published in the US or UK, but he knew he had to clear away these obstacles.

His reputation points, which had been close to ten million, plummeted in an instant—five million gone in a flash, with only four million remaining. Yet, the number continued to rise rapidly.

“Host, lawyer exchange successful. The American Dream Team of lawyers has been assembled. The renowned Jewish attorney Sapir will serve as chief adviser, with America’s most famous copyright lawyer Baden joining the team, and the distinguished African-American lawyer Cochran also participating. The system has already transferred all case details to the legal team, who will promptly file suit in the New York District Court!”

Zhang Chu didn’t recognize any of these names. He asked, “Who are these lawyers? Why do the three of them cost me five million reputation points?”

“Sapir was the defense attorney in the world-famous Simpson murder case. Baden is a renowned American copyright lawyer who has helped countless musicians, film companies, and writers reclaim their rights. Cochran used to be the Deputy District Attorney of Los Angeles and is now a highly respected lawyer with extensive connections. The five million reputation points is actually a package deal, so please rest assured, this system is honest and will never overcharge you.”

My goodness!

Zhang Chu was honestly astonished. The system was truly miraculous, able to assemble such a team of lawyers—each one a towering figure in their field, with annual incomes likely exceeding tens of millions.

All these top lawyers, gathered for a single minor case—it was like using a nuclear bomb to swat a fly, a textbook case of overkill!

At this point, Zhang Chu felt the fee was rather cheap. Even five million dollars could probably only secure one of these lawyers, let alone three working together.

“Could this scare the Conan Doyle Foundation out of their wits?” Zhang Chu wondered mischievously. He figured that once the legal team was revealed, the entire nation would be left in awe.

...

The sun blazed high in the sky, yet inside the nationally renowned Book City in the Magic Metropolis, it was cool and shady, with air conditioning sending refreshing air into every corner.

Here one could find all kinds of books, even foreign language originals, drawing in many expats who enjoyed shopping for reading material. Each floor featured coffee shops, bakeries, sunlit lounges, paper craft studios, reader clubs, and even special venues for academic lectures and seminars.

Locals and out-of-towners alike would visit in their leisure time to soak in the literary atmosphere.

Wan Ming looked around curiously, following his girlfriend Lin Yingying as they wandered through the bookstore. On a day like this, staying indoors with air conditioning was the only sensible thing.

“Yingying, what book are you looking for?” Wan Ming couldn’t help but ask. In such a vast bookstore, one had to have some goal in mind.

Lowering her voice, Lin Yingying replied, “I want to find Zhang Chu’s ‘Detective Sherlock.’ It’s really well-written—my favorite pairing, Sherlock and Watson, is just adorable. If I hadn’t watched ‘Who’s Still Standing’ yesterday, I wouldn’t even know the book had been published.”

Only then did Wan Ming recall, “So this is the book by that quiz show genius from yesterday? He seems to have a good sense of humor—are his stories funny too?”

“This is a detective novel, not a comedy—why would it be funny?” Lin Yingying was a big fan of boys’ love stories, but after reading so many, she’d come to favor those with a subtle, ambiguous undertone, not outright romance but something that felt even more intense.

Undoubtedly, as one of the most famous pairings in film history, the Sherlock and Watson fandom was thriving. Besides, the mystery and detective elements were highly appealing—why not buy a copy to show support?

Wan Ming, for his part, usually read only online fantasy novels, and now he finally made the connection. “So ‘Detective Sherlock’ is really about Sherlock Holmes? I thought it was some historical novel, like ‘Detective Judge Dee’ or something...”

Lin Yingying patted her forehead—how could two people with such different tastes be in a relationship!

“You’re really slow on the uptake. You should give it a try—it’s quite good.”

“Well, he could’ve just called it ‘Detective Holmes.’ We always call him Holmes, rarely Sherlock.”

Lin Yingying started pitching the book enthusiastically, dragging her boyfriend toward the mystery and detective section. “Ignorance is terrifying! Sherlock is his first name, Holmes is the surname.”

Compared to the crowded other sections, the mystery shelf seemed rather lonely—just a single shelf in such a huge bookstore!

On that shelf, almost all the titles and authors were foreign; local writers’ works were few and far between.

On a small table in front of the shelf, Wan Ming spotted a spiral stack of “Detective Sherlock.” He grabbed a copy triumphantly. “Look, here it is.”

...

In the southernmost province of the country, South Sea Publishing had branches in both the capital and the Magic Metropolis. Every day, a sea of data flowed into the company’s database.

When the company learned that Zhang Chu would be appearing on “Who’s Still Standing,” they had already anticipated a surge in sales after the show aired and made sure the warehouses were well-stocked.

But no one had expected Zhang Chu’s performance on the show to be so spectacular, triggering an explosive rise in both physical and digital sales of “Detective Sherlock.”

On the daily sales chart, “Detective Sherlock” leaped from a few hundred copies a day—nowhere near the rankings—straight to 41st place overall, with 18,000 copies of the print edition sold in a single day!